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A new permanent secretary to the Scottish government has been appointed to lead the country's civil service.

John-Paul Marks, currently a director in the Department of Work and Pensions, will replace Leslie Evans in January.

He was appointed by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon in agreement with UK civil service chief Simon Case.

Ms Sturgeon said Mr Marks would bring "a wealth of experience" to the role, which will see the two work closely together at the top of government.

And she paid tribute to Ms Evans, saying her "expertise and insight" had been crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

The permanent secretary heads up Scotland's civil service and is a key policy advisor to the first minister, regularly attending cabinet meetings.

Mr Marks is currently director general of work and health services at the DWP, having previously worked on the Universal Credit programme and the UK pensions regulator.

He said he was "delighted" to take up the "exciting opportunity".

He added: "I look forward to joining the team in Scotland in the new year as we do our very best for Scotland in these important years ahead."

Ms Sturgeon said: "John-Paul brings a wealth of experience to this senior leadership role from his career in the civil service working across a range of policy and delivery priorities.

"I look forward to working with him over the years ahead as we recover from Covid-19 and deliver on the government's ambition to build a fairer, greener Scotland."

Ms Evans will leave the civil service on 31 December, before Mr Marks takes over the role on 5 January.

Ms Sturgeon said she was "grateful" for her "admirable" leadership, having worked alongside her for the past seven years.

She said: "I join with so many across the Scottish public sector and beyond in wishing Leslie every success for the chapter ahead."

Although the permanent secretary normally operates behind the scenes of government, Ms Evans was frequently in the public eye in 2020 after playing a central role in the Scottish government's botched investigation of sexual harassment complaints against former First Minister Alex Salmond.

Mr Salmond had called for Ms Evans to consider her position after the government conceded its handling of the complaints had been unlawful.

Ms Evans gave evidence to the Holyrood inquiry committee looking into the row several times, insisting that the government was not out to "get" Mr Salmond.

However the group's report - which criticised the government's "seriously flawed" complaints system - singled her out, saying the "multiple roles" she had in the process "should have been seen as a significant organisational risk".

Ms Sturgeon repeatedly insisted she still had confidence in Ms Evans, having extended her contract as permanent secretary in 2020.